1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disposable connector for a solid state data storage device and its associated reader so as to maintain the integrity of the data transfer between the device and an associated computer system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the 1950's the utility industry has used magnetic tape systems to record interval-by-interval energy data for load surveys. Currently, magnetic tape is used extensively for load research, revenue billing, and system engineering applications. The tape is contained in a cartridge, which is typically removed from a recorder once a month, and transported to a central data processing center where the data is read from the tape via a tape reader in less than two minutes. This data is then stored in another memory media associated with a computer and ultimately manipulated to suit the needs of the particular utility.
An electrical power demand data recording system and its associated reader have been proposed which could replace the present magnetic tape cartridge with a cartridge containing non-volatile, solid-state memory. The solid-state memories proposed may be complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS), random access memories (RAMs) with battery backup, eraseable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), magnetic bubble memories, etc. The solid-state cartridge is applied in a manner similar to the tape cartridge, but it entails new operating constraints. As with the tape system, each solid state cartridge is retrieved at certain intervals and returned to a data processing center where the data is read from the cartridge and stored in another memory media such as a computer.
During that procedure, each central reader processes a large number of cartridges. The number of cartridges per month is directly proportional to the number of recorders in the field. In the case of the tape reader, playback head wear becomes a critical factor in the integrity of reliable data retrieval. On the other hand, interface connector wear becomes the critical factor in the integrity of reliable data retrieval through a solid-state memory reader.